Browsing: Kenya SGR

Tanzania's SGR SGR Tanzania
  • The Dar-Dodoma SGR cuts travel time by more than half the time.
  • Two Presidents and one former President aboard the maiden trip.
  • Fast speed SGR expected to boost regional economic activities.

The launch of Tanzania’s SGR has ushered a new era across East Africa, where member countries are fast embracing electric train services to enhance transport and spur trade. This month, Tanzania became the latest of several other East African countries to invest in the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR). President Samia Suluhu Hassan and Zanzibar President Hussein Mwinyi as well as former President Jakaya Kikwete officiated the launch of the commercial operation of the country’s first SGR.

This initial August launch of the SGR services will serve between the commercial port city of Dar es Salaam and the capital city Dodoma. Being the first electric train, it marks a new age for the Tanzanian transport sector.

“The new SGR electric …

  • Kenya and Uganda agree to add 2,746 kilometers to the SGR, increasing overall cost of the project to over $19.4 billion.
  • SGR extension is part of the larger $24.1 billion Lamu Port South Sudan-Ethiopia Transport (Lapsset) plan.
  • Uganda will extend the SGR to its border with Rwanda, South Sudan, and the DRC.

Kenya and Uganda have jointly signed a communique on SGR extension financing, paving the way for an ambitious infrastructure project connecting the two economies. The initiative will guide the development of two significant railway projects, the Naivasha-Kisumu-Malaba and the Malaba-Kampala Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) links. Once the SGR extension financing is secured, the projects will be implemented in the respective countries.

The deal was formalized with the presence of Kenya’s Transport minister Kipchumba Murkomen and his Ugandan counterpart Edward Katumba-Wamala.

While Kenya has already signed commercial contracts for its SGR sections, Uganda is on track to finalize the …

Reallocation of government financing is essential in unlocking infrastructure potential. It eliminates the crowding out of private-sector funding, as government investing in most commercially viable assets is crucial to those with lower returns (Mckinsey). 

Tanzania is one of the nations that leverages its internal revenue to fund its projects, including iconic bridges in the nation’s commercial capital and several roads, buildings and facilities across the country.  

Kenya is another excellent example of a solution offered by Mckinsey as the government prioritised investment in municipal infrastructure as part of a drive to provide 500,000 new affordable housing units in five years.  

Ethiopia is moving similarly, whereby it has prioritised investment in industrial development zones to attract global apparel manufacturers.  …

[elementor-template id="94265"]

In the most recent development, an additional 282km of the railway are being constructed to connect Tanzania and Burundi giving the latter access to East Africa biggest and busiest port.

The construction is an extension of the already laid down Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) in Tanzania. The two governments have signed an agreement that paves way for new rail to be laid at a sum of US$900 million.

What does this extension mean for Burundi and how will it benefit Tanzania?

Apart from the obvious economic benefits, let’s first consider the small towns through which the railway snakes. From Tanzania’s little town of Uvinza in the Kigoma region to the bustling capital city of Gitega in Burundi, the railway is expected to spark life, rejuvenate slowed businesses and build new people relations.…